London: Diplomatic row over ‘racist slur’ against Somali staff
The Qatari embassy in London has been dragged into a diplomatic row over alleged racist slur against its Somali-born employee.Somali-born Mohamoud Ahmed, who has lived in the UK for more than 40 years, claimed he was referred to in Arabic as a “donkeyâ€� and a “dogâ€� by the head of the embassy’s medical department Abdullah Al-Ansari.
Mr Ahmed has now taken his case to an employment court in central London, claiming “unfair and wrongful dismissal�, race and age discrimination�.
All his claims are denied by the Qatari embassy and Mr Al–Ansari, with the embassy spokesman dismissing Mr Ahmed’s allegations as “utterly untrueâ€�
“He was at no time ill-treated, abused or discriminated against by anyone at or representing the embassy. It is certainly not true that Mr Ahmed was discriminated against because of his colour. His son and other members of his family continue to be employed at the embassy, together with a large number of other people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds�, the official said in a statement on Saturday.
The tribunal judge has adjourned the case until later this year when a decision will be made by the Court of Appeal in test cases over whether embassies can properly claim diplomatic immunity against such actions.
Mr Ahmed claims he enjoyed good working relationships with five previous medical attachés at the Qatari embassy before Mr Al-Ansari’s appointment and that his workload increased significantly after his arrival, when he was expected to be on call 24 hours a day and at weekends.
The father of nine claims he was subjected to verbal abuse by Mr Al-Ansari who called him demeaning names in Arabic — the worst of which, “Abd�, can be used to mean “black slave�.
In papers submitted by his lawyers, Mr Ahmed also claims he was assaulted on two occasions and now has severe pain in his left shoulder and may require surgery.
The embassy and Mr Al–Ansari say they are shocked by the claims and that they enjoyed a good working relationship with Mr Ahmed.